Meed | Five firms eye Shiqri solar EPC contract

Five firms eye Shiqri solar EPC contract

19 February 2024

Five engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors are understood to have been invited to bid for a contract to build an 800MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in northwest Saudi Arabia.

The Shiqri solar farm will cater to Neom, Saudi Arabia's SR1.9tn ($500bn) gigaproject.

According to industry sources, the following companies have been invited to bid for the contract:

Al Sharif Group (local)
Larsen & Toubro (India)
Power China (China)
Sterling & Wilson (India)
SMEC (Malaysia)

It is understood that Enowa, a fully owned subsidiary of Neom, expects to receive proposals for the 800MW Shiqri solar scheme by 3 March, the same deadline that has been set for the 1,200MW Gayal wind farm project.

Enowa initially set an early February tender closing date for both schemes.

The project will be located southwest of the Tabuk region in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The procurement timeline for the two renewable EPC projects has quickly advanced compared to an existing plan to procure 3,000MW of renewable energy capacity using an independent power producer (IPP) model.

The planned 3,000MW solar IPP projects were to comprise the initial phase of a major renewable energy capacity-building programme in Neom, which will require up to 55,000MW of clean energy capacity to meet its goal to be powered 100% by renewables by 2030.